Planet Group is a global project delivery firm for architecture, engineering, and

construction management with the mission to make their clients successful by saving
them time, trouble, and money. To live up to that promise, Planet was looking for ways
to integrate Lean and Kanban practices and drive performance by enhancing
collaboration, optimizing department and project management workflows.

Before Incorporating Kanban

One of the main challenges identified by Planet on the path to global Lean Project
Delivery was a lack of visibility across locations and team members. The physical
distance and time zones between locations can make it more complicated for team
members to have an overview of what their colleagues are currently working on,
whether they need assistance, or how they can help. This lack of visibility can create
gaps in communication, which can result in duplication of efforts and rework. Before
introducing Kanban as a company-wide tool, some individuals and groups in Planet
were using free online tool alternatives to manage their work. Having different people
spread across various tools made it difficult to have an overview of the entire workload,
project status, or free capacity in a team or division.